VOA标准英语2010年-Some Haitian Schools Reopen, Students

People near the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince are taking tentative steps to get their lives back to normal, after the devastating¹ earthquake on January 12.  In Mirebalais new students have arrived and classes are expected to resume in a few days.

In the countryside, an hour's drive from Port-au-Prince, many people in Mirebalais have returned to their daily routine.

A church-run school is officially open and the director and his staff are waiting for students.

 

Nineteen-year-old Cimeau Cassandra is one of several students from Port-au-Prince whose schools are now closed and who have come to Mirebalais to register for classes.

"My school did not collapse², but has some damage," said Cimeau Cassandra.

The school's director, Raphael St. Hilare, says students outside Port-au-Prince have suffered a trauma³, even if their communities escaped damage in the earthquake.

"Yes, this is something we have to consider because many of those children are still in a state of shock," said Raphael St. Hilare. "They are still afraid because they have heard on the radio that there are some aftershocks."

This 12-year-old student from Port-au-Prince is thankful to be in Mirebalais.

"My house was destroyed, as well as my school, so my mom didn't want me to stay in Port-au-Prince," said the student.

Life remains⁴ hard for many in Port-au-Prince. 

The sight of a food truck brings hundreds of desperate people into the streets.

Water is free and people rely on groups like the Red Cross to distribute it.

These young quake survivors⁵, now living in Mirebalais, look forward to starting classes at their new school.

The school is empty now, but school director Raphael St. Hilare says classes will soon resume.

"I am optimistic," he said. "So as usual in our culture, the first week is always a week of observation.  So next week, I hope things will be normal."

People here say Haiti will need help to rebuild its educational system.  Schools remain closed in the parts of Port-au-Prince that were hardest hit by the earthquake. 
 

1 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

2 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

3 trauma   

n.外伤，精神创伤

参考例句：

• Counselling is helping him work through this trauma.心理辅导正帮助他面对痛苦。
• The phobia may have its root in a childhood trauma.恐惧症可能源于童年时期的创伤。

4 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

5 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者